Whittling
by coldfusion9797
Summary: Alternate/extended version of the whittling scene from 4.10. Now includes Damon's scenes from the rest of episode 4.10 and the start of 4.11. Damon/Klaus.
1. After School Special (Part 1)

Whittle: carve into an object by repeatedly cutting small slices from it. So the Oxford Dictionary says. Damon feels like that what Elena's been doing to him ever since he met her and he's had just about enough of it. So he's taking his frustration out on this stick, whittling it down into a point, making it exactly what he wants it to be so it will suit his purpose. In a way it's soothing. It's a timely distraction from that idiot he's being forced to babysit. Sitting here at night by the light of a campfire just whittling gives Damon some much needed time to himself. Room to breathe and a chance to drop his mask for a while. The monotonous action of shaping wooden bullets allows him turn his churning thoughts off, for the time being at least. But his peace is broken by quiet footsteps. Footsteps which announce Klaus' unwelcome arrival.

"If you're here for payback go for it. Cause you'll be stuck babysitting the little hunter that could." Damn, the point on this bullet, like the rest, just isn't quite right.

"You know," Klaus says, irritatingly helping himself to seat next to Damon. "If you adjust your angle a little bit you'll find a sharper edge." Klaus knows how to whittle? Interesting. Maybe Damon will try that but he won't give Klaus the satisfaction of openly accepting his advice; Klaus is being a know-it-all, and that's enough to piss anybody off.

"I know how to whittle, thanks," Damon tells Klaus, subtly adjusting the angle of his blade, hoping the annoying prick won't notice. Maddeningly Klaus is right; the edge _is _sharper with this adjustment. "Now I know why those hybrids hated you; you are annoying."

"Actually, I'm just perplexed as to why Jeremy hasn't killed any vampires." Maybe it's because all these bullets Damon's whittled are crap, he thinks in frustration. Or, more likely, it's because Damon just doesn't give a shit about finding the cure. Whatever the case, Damon throws Klaus the expected line, unwilling to give his thoughts away.

"Darwinism, Klaus. He needs to be able to protect himself before we hunt down his first vampire nest."

"And here was I thinking you were the fun brother." Damon hasn't forgotten that Klaus hung out with Stefan when he was the ripper...so that's quite a complement. "Let's play a little game shall we? Jeremy needs more victims and there's a whole tonne of people down the road just waiting to be turned into vampires for the slaughter." Klaus is right, the exact same thought crossed Damon's mind. But Elena wouldn't like it so Damon held back. It bugs Damon that anyone would assume he's too dumb or too soft to come up with a plan like that and his pride gets the better of him.

"You don't think that occurred to me Klaus?" Damon asks, needing Klaus to know that he wasn't the only one smart enough or cold enough to come up with this plan.

"The tragedy is Damon," Klaus says, leaning in close, "it did occur to you and you chose to ignore it. My guess is you did it to impress Elena." Well fuck, when Klaus puts it like that Damon just sounds pathetic; and he hates being so easy to read. Or maybe Klaus is just that perceptive? "Somehow, to honour her, you'll find a way to spare innocent lives and walk Jeremy down the moral high road." Fuck, hearing it put in such simple terms makes Damon realise how stupid he's been. He's a vampire, a good one, and by good he means bad. He's never baulked at killing since he accepted that's what vampire are; killers. Stefan taught him that. It hits Damon how soft he's become. It's disgusting, and he's ashamed of himself for letting a human do this to him. "That's why I've already made the necessary corrections." Damn it's refreshing to be around someone who doesn't give a fuck about right and wrong. Damon eyes wander to Klaus' mouth and his heart rate increases.

"What'd you do?" Damon asks in anticipation. It's as though Klaus has just cleared a haze he's been living in since he discovered Katherine wasn't in the tomb. The possibilities of connecting with someone who shares his disregard of morality flood his mind. Klaus' lips curl into a smile. His expression combined with the flickering shadows and glow of the fire light falling across his face make Klaus look like maybe he did just crawl out of hell. And that does all kinds of things for Damon.

"Bring Jeremy to the tavern down the road and I'll show you," Klaus all but purrs, hooking his finger under Damon's chin to make sure Damon is paying attention. Damon swallows nervously, as if he could pull away now. Klaus regards him consideringly and apparently is satisfied by what he sees. Klaus gets up and walks away, leaving Damon in a daze. What the hell was that?


	2. After School Special (Part 2)

**AN: This is a retelling of the rest of Damon's scenes from episode 4.10. And yes, I did conveniently leave out the last line of Damon and Elena's conversation. Enjoy.**

Damon's head is still spinning when he walks in to find Matt and Jeremy staring down at the pizza girl, a stake shoved through her chest. Klaus. He's responsible for this and he's reminded Damon what it's all about. This girl didn't matter, just because she was human. Vampires have no business caring about the lives of strangers, innocent or not.

xxx

So here Damon is out in the woods, digging a grave for the pizza girl. Oh well, someone's gotta do it and it might as well be him according to the demanding creatures he left back at the lake house.

Damon's phone rings, the sound is unwelcome, piercing through the calm of the night. It's Elena. Damon hasn't really thought about what he's going to tell her so he goes with the expected line.

"Hope your days going better than mine, gotta say I'm liking the odds."

"Stefan knows about us," and that right there is a perfect example of why Damon is pulling the plug on all this 'feelings' bullshit. He is so over dealing with crap like this. Besides, you know a relationship has become way too complicated when that's how your supposed girlfriend begins a conversation with you.

"Ooo, how'd he take it?" Damon feels crappy for doing this to his little bro, another great reason to ditch Elena.

"How do you think?"

"I'm thinking for the first time all week I'm happy to be at camp nowhere." Despite appearances to the contrary Damon really doesn't enjoy inflicting pain on Stefan.

"How's Jeremy?" Shouldn't the next question have been 'how are you?' But Damon does understand her concern for her little brother.

"That depends on how much you trust me." Elena is not going to like the decision he's made and even though Damon's priorities have changed it doesn't mean he wants to cause more grief for Elena.

"You know that I trust you." That's unlikely to be true and unfortunate for Elena if it is.

"Then I think he's gonna get through this just fine," Damon lies to keep the peace.

"Thanks for looking out for him." That's one way to put it.

"Yeah well I told them if they were good I'd buy them both ice-creams, so...look I gotta go," Damon is so over pandering to Elena's whims, he's going to end this call before he loses all patience with her. All he wants to do is finish burying this chick and get to the business of seeing what Klaus has in store for them.

"Not yet," oh for Christ's sake, can't Elena just shut up for once in her life? "Something happened today, I realised something about you...about us," must be the day for it because Damon's had a revelation of his own, "and you can say that's it the sire bond and you know what maybe, maybe it is but I'm telling you it's the most real thing that I've ever felt in my entire life," well isn't that a kick in the guts for Stefan? "I love you, Damon." And there it is. A couple of hours ago he'd have given anything to hear those words from Elena but now it just seems like too little too late. "I love you." Yep, got it the first time. But damn, as much as he wants to play the heartless bastard here, he can't ignore her words, he still feels he owes her a chance at the cure.

"Look, I'm gonna get this cure for you. And I'm gonna have to do things you're not gonna like..." Maybe Damon will always care about her to a certain extent, but he definitely doesn't want to spend forever with Elena and her hang ups. Finding the cure for her is the best way he can think of the help her and ensure he won't be stuck with her for eternity. Not to mention using the cure on Elena will mean it can't be used against Klaus.

xxx

The air is thick with the scent of spilled blood when they walk into the bar, even Jeremy and Matt must be able to smell it. Klaus is sitting comfortably at the bar, having a drink, completely at ease with the carnage surrounding him.

"I was beginning to worry you boys wouldn't find the place," Klaus says offhandedly.

Matt and Jeremy survey the scene with apparent horror.

"What the hell?" Jeremy says with that sense of morality humans find so appealing.

"Did you kill all these people?" Matt the human questions Klaus the original hybrid. The question strikes Damon as very amusing because of its utter ridiculousness. Matt's tone suggests he can do something about it, which, very clearly, he can't.

"Not exactly," Klaus says with a smirk, "they're in transition." He rises and confronts Jeremy before continuing. "Killing them is your job." Jeremy and Matt share a look and then they both turn on Damon with outrage.

"You said you were gonna convince Klaus to do this another way," Jeremy says, his tone a mixture of accusation and betrayal with a hint of that ever-present expectation that Damon and Stefan are here simply to fix things for the Gilberts thrown in. Matt and Jeremy continue to stare accusingly at Damon. Damon shares a look with Klaus and the way Klaus looks at him is different to the others. It's a curious look, not a demanding one. Klaus isn't asking for anything, he's content to simply see what Damon will do.

"Well I thought about it and then I realised his idea was better," Damon admits, looking at Klaus as he finishes, wanting Klaus to know that he is on his side. It earns Damon a smile from Klaus and that's worth more to him now than keeping the whiny humans happy.


	3. Catch Me If You Can (Part 1)

**AN: People seem to like this story so I've decided to continue for as long as I keep getting reviews telling me you want more. This chapter is the start of episode 4.11. It mostly follows Damon's scenes as seen in the show but I've added an extra bit at the end of the first one. Enjoy.**

"No way I'm not doing this," Jeremy says like he has a choice.

"What makes you think you have a choice?" Klaus asks. See, peas in a pod.

"You have to kill vampires to complete the hunters mark," Damon explains to the dim-witted idiot. "Mark equals cure. You're in a bar full of almost vampires so...get your hunt on."

"Screw you," Jeremy says and it's funny 'cause he thinks he's scary; "you said I wouldn't have to kill any innocent people." God, there it is again. Who gives a shit?!

"Jeremy they're not people." Fuck, how stupid is this kid?

"Enough," Klaus commands and he's right. This whole trying-to-reason-with-the-stupid-humans is a habit that's going to take some breaking. "Have at it or else..." Klaus orders. Mmm, he's hot when he's bossy.

"I don't take orders from you dick," Jeremy says to Klaus in an unconvincing attempt to be hard-core. "Hunters can't be compelled." Wow, Jeremy just reached a new level of stupid there. It's amazing, Damon wonders how many levels there can possibly be.

"You're right, I can't compel you," Klaus says with an edge of dark delight, this should be good. "But if your conscience is getting in the way then allow me to make this easy for you, because I can compel them." Oh, this is so exciting, Klaus is gonna compel the vampires to go after Jeremy. Damon should've got on board with supporting Klaus' evil plans long ago, it's so much more fun than being a good guy. "I'm gonna give you a two minute head start them I'm gonna send every vampire in here after you. You kill them or they kill your friend, Matt." Matt? That wasn't part of the deal.

"Whoa, wait a second," Matt says, appealing to Damon to help him. And damn, Damon does feel kinda bad for Matt because the poor bastard is only human after all. It must really suck being surrounded by supernaturals with awesome powers and have none of them yourself.

"No, no. You turn 'em, he kills 'em, that was the deal Klaus."

"I'm taking artistic licence," Klaus says flippantly. Damn, it would be nice to be so free. It makes Damon realise that he has a long way to go and Klaus can be the one to show him the way.

"You know we can't take them all on at the same time." Klaus can't be serious, Damon's good, but he's not that good. Especially when he's got to try to keep Matt the useless human alive _and_ make sure Jeremy is the one to actually make the kills while not getting killed. Gah...Klaus is making this difficult.

"With you as his coach he'll be fine," Klaus says and damn him, he knows that will make Damon step up...and that's his plan, Damon realises. This is a test. "It's Matt I'm worried about."

Damon sighs. The look Klaus gives him then is one that says he's had enough pretending and he wants to speak to Damon alone. It's a look that sends a chill through Damon because of the familiarity it implies. It's going to take some proving to Klaus that he's worthy of Klaus' attention. And oh how he wants to be worthy.

"Jeremy go get the weapons out of the car I'll be right behind you." Jeremy goes but Matt's still standing there, can't he take a hint? "Both of you." Matt follows Jeremy outside leaving Damon and Klaus alone, apart from the transitioning newbies that is, oh and the hybrid bodyguards.

"If I hear an engine start, I'll kill Matt myself," Klaus calls after them with amusement.

With the exit of tweedle-dum and tweedle-dumber the atmosphere changes completely. Both Damon and Klaus drop their masks and Damon feels like he can breathe again.

"Look," Damon says, attempting to be reasonable, "I'll get this done for you but do you have to compel them to kill Matt? The poor guy is only human after all."

"Damon, Damon, Damon..." Klaus says pityingly while closing the distance between them. He stops just before he actually touches Damon, so close Damon could...what? An alluring smile forms on his lips. "Of course I don't _have_ to," Klaus purrs, "and that's the point." Once upon a time Damon knew that, which proves he's been hanging around Elena way too long. "I'm doing it because I find it amusing. So you'd better get going Damon, Matt won't last long without you." Klaus eyes are alive with enjoyment as he dismisses Damon and walks away to compel the newly turned vampires. Damn it, Damon hates this feeling of inadequacy.

"Oh, and Damon?" Klaus says turning back to him, "I'm only tolerating you're squeamishness because I know deep down you're a monster too. Don't worry, we'll find him soon enough."

xxx

Lead here by the smell of Matt's blood, Damon finds Matt and Jeremy chit-chatting among the trees. He strolls up behind Jeremy who finally realises there's someone behind him. Jeremy turns, pulling a stake but he's slow and Damon easily stops his attack. Jeez, you'd think these idiots had a death wish.

"Don't hesitate. You're lucky it was me otherwise you two would be dead." Damon says with frustration. How many times does he have to go over this shit? It's just not that hard to remember.

"You set us up," Jeremy says angrily but there's a hint of disappointment there too. It just goes to show how far Damon's fallen that Jeremy thought Damon was trustworthy. Yuck.

"I was trying to get this thing over with. You're the one that pissed off Klaus. Now you need to fight your way out of it."

"Where are the other vampires?" Matt asks with justified concern. Damon's not really in the mood to save him at the moment.

"They're newbies, they're still trying to figure out how to track which means you have two seconds to get ready to fight."

"The lake house is this way. If we can get there they won't be able to get inside," Jeremy tells Matt. Far out they are making this difficult. Can't Jeremy see completing the marks is an inevitability? If he'd just get on with it Damon could be rid of all this crap.

"Wait. You wanna run?"

"They're gonna kill Matt." No argument there.

"Fine. Get outta here, I'll slow them down." Why does Damon do this to himself? As if Matt matters.

As soon as Matt and Jeremy run off a newbie vampire runs out of the woods and smack bang into Damon. Damon plunges his hand into the vampire's chest and the newbie falls to the ground dead, leaving Damon alone in the woods with a bleeding heart clutched in his hand. The satisfaction is fleeting. Damon looks down at the bloody organ, damn it's messy. And it's one less vampire for Jeremy to kill, what a waste.

xxx

"What the hell were you thinking?" Elena demands the second Damon enters the room. Fucking hell, she's a nagging bitch. There are several truthful answers he could give to this question; Jeremy's annoying, I wanted to impress Klaus, I want to find the cure to get you out of my life. "All I asked you to do was teach him how to fight."

"He's not the best student in the world," is the answer Damon comes up with, while pouring himself a drink. It's true and it won't piss Elena off too much. Being a terrible person comes in handy in situations like these, people expect you to be an asshole and that means they let you get away with it. But he still needs her onside to find this cure. Without her support, he loses Jeremy.

"Wait, now this is my fault?" Jeremy whines, doesn't he know when to shut up and let the grown-ups talk?

"Stop talking," Damon tells him, he's had just about enough of Jeremy's whinging today. "Look I know you're angry. But my way was the easiest, safest and fastest way to complete his make to get you the cure."

"I don't care about the cure Damon, not if it means putting the people I care about in danger," Elena rants predictably. Blah blah blah.

"Hey, there would've been no danger if he hadn't gone all bleeding heart." Why can't they understand there is no avoiding this?

"He killed someone, these were innocent people." Oh for fucks sake, there it is again. As if that matters, they were randoms.

"The mark grew, didn't it?" He'll never get it through her thick head that innocents don't matter when you're a vampire. As if anyone's really innocent anyway.

"Ok look, we need a plan. There's a group of compelled vampires out there and as soon as the sun goes down they're gonna come after Matt so we have to find a way to protect him." Yep, there it is again, that Gilbert sense of entitlement.

"Yes, I know. But there will be no problem when Big Jere and I go on a hunting expedition. Elena I know it's tragic, I get it, we also agree that he had to kill them. Now we have added incentive. So you take the least most valuable player home, Jeremy and I will finish this."

"I'm sorry, are you saying that I should leave him here with you?"

"Trust me, I will keep him safe. Ok." Elena nods in agreement and Damon has to resist the urge to bow to an imaginary audience. It really was a great performance.

xxx

"You really think they went back to the bar?"

"Where else are they gonna go? It's all cabins and vacation homes, they can't get in anywhere. Alright, there you go," Damon says handing Jeremy a sick crossbow. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

"Fine," Jeremy sooks. Jeez, he could be a little happier about being handed such a cool weapon. "Let's get this over with." Jeremy leans down to load the bow and if Damon ever felt any affection for him it would be in this moment, seeing Jeremy capable of handling a deadly weapon, makes Damon like him just a little more. Ok, so maybe he doesn't want the kid to die after all.

"Listen, just go one at a time, only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate and don't miss," Damon instructs.

"Save the teaching moment, Elena's not here. You don't have to pretend like you give a damn about me." Little prick. That's appreciation for you. And that's just one more reason Damon can add to his list of reasons not to give a fuck.

"I'm trying keep you alive dumbass," and it's official, that's all Damon feels for Jeremy now. He's a means to an end. Kill vampires, complete the mark, find the cure. "C'mon."

xxx

So here they are, back at the bar but it's disturbingly quiet...and there's a big streak of blood on the floor.

"Something's not right," Damon says in a captain obvious moment. Damn, maybe Jeremy's stupidity is catching, he has been hanging around him a lot lately. They follow the trail of blood into the cool room and fuck, there's a pile of dead newbie vampires.

"Looks like we're gonna have to find some new vampires, what a waste." Bloody hell, in a town that's crawling with vampires just shouldn't be this hard to find some to kill.

"What the hell happened?" Jeremy asks.

"I confess, I did it." Great, just great. Enter Kol Mikaelson.

"Kol..."

"Jeremy, good to see you mate," Kol says in an annoyingly cheerful way, "sorry about the mess. It was a little crowded when I arrived and I prefer more intimate gatherings." It's at this time that about a billion thoughts race through Damon's head. What is Kol doing here? Where did he get that jacket? Is he here on Klaus' order? No, that doesn't make sense because Kol killing these newbies isn't part of the plan. But Kol is terribly efficient and so much better than Damon at this evil minion thing, maybe now that he's here, Klaus will use him instead. That thought upsets Damon, he doesn't want to be pushed to the sideline again. There is however one thing Damon can offer Klaus that Kol can't... but right now this situation needs handling so Damon pushes that appealing idea away for now. Damon's main goal at the moment is to keep Jeremy safe, not indulge in lurid fantasies. So, how can he handle this is a way that will please Klaus? He can't let Kol hurt Jeremy, but he can't kill Kol either. Think, damn it, think. "We three need to have a little chat."


End file.
